The cytoskeleton is a central factor contributing to various hallmarks of cancer. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence demonstrating the involvement of actin regulatory proteins in malignancy, and their dysregulation was shown to predict poor clinical prognosis. Although enhanced cytoskeletal activity is often associated with cancer progression, the expression of several inducers of actin polymerization is remarkably reduced in certain malignancies, and it is not completely clear how these changes promote tumorigenesis and metastases. The complexities involved in cytoskeletal induction of cancer progression therefore pose considerable difficulties for therapeutic intervention; it is not always clear which cytoskeletal regulator should be targeted in order to impede cancer progression, and whether this targeting may inadvertently enhance alternative invasive pathways which can aggravate tumor growth. The entire constellation of cytoskeletal machineries in eukaryotic cells are numerous and complex; the system is comprised of and regulated by hundreds of proteins, which could not be covered in a single review. Therefore, we will focus here on the actin cytoskeleton, which encompasses the biological machinery behind most of the key cellular functions altered in cancer, with specific emphasis on actin nucleating factors and nucleation-promoting factors. Finally, we discuss current therapeutic strategies for cancer which aim to target the cytoskeleton.

细胞骨架是导致各种癌症特征的核心因素。近年来，越来越多的证据表明肌动蛋白调节蛋白参与恶性肿瘤，并且它们的失调被证明可预测不良的临床预后。虽然增强的细胞骨架活性通常与癌症进展有关，但在某些恶性肿瘤中，几种肌动蛋白聚合诱导剂的表达显着降低，并且尚不清楚这些变化如何促进肿瘤发生和转移。因此，细胞骨架诱导癌症进展的复杂性给治疗干预带来了相当大的困难。并不总是清楚应该靶向哪种细胞骨架调节剂以阻止癌症进展，以及这种靶向是否会无意中增强可加剧肿瘤生长的替代侵入途径。真核细胞中的整个细胞骨架机器群众多且复杂；该系统由数百种蛋白质组成并受其调节，单篇综述无法涵盖这些蛋白质。因此，我们将在此关注肌动蛋白细胞骨架，它包含癌症中大多数关键细胞功能改变背后的生物机制，特别强调肌动蛋白成核因子和成核促进因子。最后，我们讨论了目前针对细胞骨架的癌症治疗策略。该系统由数百种蛋白质组成并受其调节，单篇综述无法涵盖这些蛋白质。因此，我们将在此关注肌动蛋白细胞骨架，它包含癌症中大多数关键细胞功能改变背后的生物机制，特别强调肌动蛋白成核因子和成核促进因子。最后，我们讨论了目前针对细胞骨架的癌症治疗策略。该系统由数百种蛋白质组成并受其调节，单篇综述无法涵盖这些蛋白质。因此，我们将在此关注肌动蛋白细胞骨架，它包含癌症中大多数关键细胞功能改变背后的生物机制，特别强调肌动蛋白成核因子和成核促进因子。最后，我们讨论了目前针对细胞骨架的癌症治疗策略。